Giving a dry huff, his partner shook his head. “You never say anything you don’t mean. Isn’t that like rule number one with you?”
He refused to look the other man’s way. Things were awkward enough. Taking a deep breath, he nodded. “Usually, yes,” he stated quietly. “But yesterday, I did. You’ve been a good friend to me, Josh.”
“Whoa. Hold on a sec here. Are you apologizing?” his partner asked, his voice hitching in disbelief. “What the hell did they do to you? Are you feeling okay?”
Sebastian shrugged and steeled his jaw. “Take it for what it’s worth.”
He twisted, his eyes narrowing into blazing slits as Josh reached over and gave his hair an affectionate ruffle.
“Look at you getting all warm and fuzzy on me. Now who sounds like a woman?”
Sebastian batted his arm away with a forceful chop and glared. “Touch me like that again, and you’ll end up one.”
Holding up his hands in placation, Josh laughed. “Easy, killer. I don’t think that arrangement would make your sister very happy.”
Sebastian turned away with a mutter of disgust.
“Wow. Just like that, you’re back to your usual charming self,” Josh mused. “I don’t know how the hell Taylor keeps up with you.”
“My love life is none of your damn business. Keep your nose out of it before it gets broke,” he snapped, pinning his partner with a cold stare. “Are we clear on that?”
“Yeah, Baas,” Josh mumbled, sobering. “Crystal.”
Tension hummed through his body. As much as he wanted to trust Josh, Marx’s words still weighed heavily on his mind and burned in his gut like gasoline. Just hearing someone else speak her name made him feel defensive and on edge. The smallest sign of weakness and the big man would strike. He’d threatened his family before. Sebastian winced. It was beyond a threat. Christian was dead. Lucian was dead. Rage threatened his sanity. Career be damned, he wouldn’t lose Taylor. SKALS had trained a killer. Marx stressed the importance of being ruthless and cold. Sebastian clenched his teeth. If he went after the woman he loved, the director would quickly discover just how apt of a pupil he really was.
The radio inside the car caught him off-guard. He startled slightly, yanking himself from his thoughts as Vince’s smooth voice broke across the airwaves.
“Sector One, is everything alright up there? That car was doing an awful lot of moving and shaking. What’s going on?”
Josh rolled his eyes and picked up the receiver. “All clear. Alpha was just knocking me down a peg or two, per usual. You want to come take my place for a bit?”
The radio crackled with the sound of Vince’s feigned thought. “That would be a negative, Bravo. I’ve been on the receiving end of those blows before. It’s not a place I like to be.”
“Roger that.”
A small smirk played on Sebastian’s lips as he stared out the window. Perhaps he wasn’t losing his touch after all. He wondered if Marx saw the way his teammates looked at him. Maybe it wasn’t enough or maybe the big man just didn’t care. Sebastian snarled beneath his breath. He’d never showed an ounce of mercy or compassion on the job. Not once. He understood the importance of making sure his life and family affairs were in order, and like it or not, he did whatever needed to be done. What the hell else did he want from him? What else was there? Frowning, he rubbed the ache in his neck and watched the warehouse doors. He was sick of waiting around on Laychee. The bastard was dragging things out and pushing his patience too far. Not to mention the little stunt he’d tried to pull with his security team. That was far from forgiven. His fists curled as he remembered the pictures. Pictures of Taylor, his sister, and his partner.
Josh glanced over as his hand closed around the door handle. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Shaking things up a little.”
“Are you insane?” Josh hissed, grabbing his arm.
They both froze as headlights swept across the grounds. The beams bounced with the uneven terrain, reflecting off the rusted railroad cars and abandoned truck trailers scattered throughout the yard. Motes of dust and sand kicked up behind the vehicle and swirled in a reddened cloud. The gleaming Navigator was as out of place in the dilapidated surroundings as Sebastian’s sleek S550.
“Shit,” Josh muttered. Slamming his coffee back in the holder, he grabbed the radio. “Thanks for the head’s up asshole. We got company.”
“Sorry boys. I was taking a piss. Stand by. I’m keying in the plates and running them now.”
“Taking a piss,” Josh repeated dryly. Lifting a brow, he turned to Sebastian. “Maybe we should cath him the next go round.”
His shoulders shook with a silent laugh. “The idea does have merit.”
Another curse burst past Josh’s lips as the SUV rolled closer. Sebastian closed his eyes. It was too late to pull out. Any movement and they would be spotted for sure. There were no guarantees they hadn’t been already. His jaw tightened and he rolled his shoulders. The stiffness knotting the muscles was becoming unbearable. Pulling his pistol free, he wrapped his finger around the trigger. Now it was a waiting game, a matter of who would twitch first. His gaze shifted between the encroaching Navigator and the warehouse doors, his tension ratcheting.
“Do you want the good news or the bad news?” Vince asked.
Sebastian squeezed his throbbing sinuses between his thumb and forefinger, ignoring the questioning look from his partner.
“Just give it to us straight,” Josh spat. “You’re in enough trouble as it is.”
“The good news is I think we just locked down Laychee’s supplier. The vehicle is registered to an Armando Soeleze, a known weapons dealer. He was on the BATF radar for a while, but two years ago, he seemingly dropped off the face of the planet. No one’s seen or heard from him since.”
“Yeah, great. Lucky for us, he’s back in orbit. What else do you got?”
“He’s most likely armed and extremely dangerous.”
Sebastian slumped. That was the best their e
yes and ears could come up with? A low pulse of anger surged through his system. Beside him, Josh rolled his eyes.
“Yeah, that’s real helpful of you. Thanks a lot.” Scrubbing a hand over his face, he turned in his seat. “What the hell are we gonna do here, Baas?”
He rubbed a forefinger across the stubble dotting his chin and pondered the situation. They didn’t have many options, and they sure as hell didn’t have the gun power to go toe-to-toe with someone like Soeleze. Laychee alone was questionable enough on a night when they had the whole division in place. Tonight, it was just two teams on the ground and one on standby in the air. His eyes snapped up to the windshield as the doors to the SUV swung open, bathing the interior with a bright flood of light. Several soft clicks flooded the inside of the Mercedes as Josh snapped off a succession of pictures. Holding his breath, Sebastian waited. His entire body stiffened into rigid attention as two of the men exiting the Lincoln looked their way. Josh released a ragged exhale beside him.
“Stay calm,” Sebastian urged softly. “We’ve got this. Send the pictures through. Let Vince do his job.”
“What, like my last act?” Josh asked with a rueful laugh. “Mission first, right?”
“We’re going to be fine.”
From the corner of his eye, he watched Josh send the images through. Within a few minutes, Vince would have facial recognition matches. It was what they needed if they were ever going to take Laychee and his crew down. He glanced back up and tensed. Three of the five men were starting to edge their way toward the Benz. Their leader, a burly baldheaded man with caramel skin, shouted something he couldn’t decipher. Blowing out a steady breath, he slowly unlocked the safety and cocked the hammer on his pistol. Josh’s weapon clicked in tandem beside him.
His fingers crept toward his ear as Josh pulled the plug on the radio and swiped a scrambler over their electronics. “Nighthawk, get Sector Three in the air. We’ve been compromised. Hostiles are engaging.”